Athletes
Carlos Ulberg Ready For Fellow Knockout Artist Oezdemir
City Kickboxing's Carlos Ulberg Meets Volkan Oezdemir In A Clash Of Top 10 Light Heavyweights At UFC Macau
It took Carlos Ulberg, who fights Volkan Oezdemir this Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Yan vs Figueirido, just 12 seconds to KO his last opponent.
Alonzo Menifield charged at Ulberg moments after the opening horn of their contest in May, but fell to a flurry of counter punches from Ulberg.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Macau
Thanks to Andrei Paulet, one of Ulberg’s coaches at City Kickboxing, “Black Jag” says he was hyper-aware that Menifield might bull-rush him.
“It was something that (Andrei) had picked up just before the fight,” said the light heavyweight contender. “I trust Andrei, so I had that in the back of my mind. Just before we walked out, he reminded me. And then as we got in the cage and were ready to touch hands, he also reminded me. So that was put in the back of the head, that he may rush, so let’s be on our toes about this.”
12 seconds of fight time is all Ulberg has had this year, after fights against Jamahal Hill and Anthony Smith were cancelled after Ulberg was well into his training camp.
Ulberg, who scored a UFC contract after a first-round knockout victory on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, says he has taken the opportunity to level up his game.
“It was a time for me to touch up on a lot of things that I needed to, picking up a lot of new techniques, building, rebuilding and just getting back to the drawing board,” said Ulberg, 34. “It happens, it’s happened before; it just gave me a bit more time to reload.”
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Ulberg, who has an 11-1 record in mixed martial arts, says the downtime and the opportunity to expand his toolkit has been well-timed ahead of Saturday’s fight.
“We’ve built up a bit more of a repertoire; now we’re up against a guy who has been in the top ten for a long time now, and he’s a very well developed fighter, whether it be on the ground or standup, so we’re well prepared for Volkan Oezdemir.”
Ulberg says his increasing fame in his native New Zealand has not been a distraction in the last six months outside of the UFC’s Octagon.
Carlos Ulberg Closes The Show Early Against Nchukwi | UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot
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Carlos Ulberg Closes The Show Early Against Nchukwi | UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot
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“I like to stay indoors. I don’t go out too much, I don’t party too much, I like to keep myself mystical, I just stay indoors. I’m in the gym, or I’m back home. That’s basically been my lifestyle since I’ve been in the UFC.”
Ulberg’s UFC career has not been without adversity. “Black Jag” lost his debut fight against Kennedy Nzechukwu by knockout in the second round. Ulberg now credits the loss with making him a more serious student of mixed martial arts, and less reliant on his natural athleticism.
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Ulberg also showed in his third-round victory over Da Woon Jung in September 2023 that he is not a “frontrunner,” but can prevail in a back-and-forth war.
On paper, Ulberg now faces the toughest test of his career in the 35-year-old Swiss fighter. The former title challenger is on a two-fight win streak and is currently ranked number eight in the division. Like Ulberg, he has a penchant for early knockouts, as his nickname “No Time” suggests. But Ulberg says fighting a fellow knockout artist does add a level of excitement for him in the lead up to Saturday.
“Fans love to watch a good fight. Fans love to watch light heavyweight fighters with power in their hands because they can expect a knockout at any time. And they know our past fights and recent fights have been knockouts,” said Ulberg, ahead of his fight at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China. “I’ve had guys like that who’ve come up against me and (I) managed to get the win and get the finish. You can’t look past a guy like Volkan Oezdemir, who’s got the power in his hands. I’m just going to go in there, do what I do best, and put on a great show.”
So what does Ulberg think he does better than Oezdemir?
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“I have instinct, I have power, I have speed, and I have a strong will to get this gold, to get the title. So I’m working to get that championship fight. I want it.”
While Ulberg is not looking past Oezdemir, he does have an eye on the future, and the fact that a win on Saturday will put him in the picture for a title fight and a blockbuster matchup against Alex “Poatan” Pereira.
“A win over Volkan Oezdemir means that I have a seven-fight win streak in the light heavyweight division, which is big,” said Ulberg. “It puts me in title contention. People will start talking about (a fight) against Poatan, that will be a massive fight, a big fight, a fight of the century. Two warriors going up against each other. I like (Poatan). He’s a respectable guy. To me, he is the full package. He exudes what a warrior is, and that’s definitely a fight that I’m looking forward to. I think it’s going to be a fight for the ages for sure. Two warriors coming together to test each other’s will.”
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For now, though, Ulberg must get through Oezdemir come Saturday. He will not go so far as to offer a prediction, but says he is confident in the knowledge that he has left no stone unturned in his preparation.
“No prediction. I don't predict anything. It's just a good feeling that I have because of my hard training,” said Ulberg. “My feeling, my confidence, comes from my hard training. And my confidence comes from the trust that I have within myself. That's all it comes down to.”
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs Figueiredo took place live from Galaxy Arena in Macau, China on November 23, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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